With the new addition of a small pool, this marks the beginning of construction on the first outdoor habitat so far. Not there on my last visit of April 22. According to the last Zoo commission report of April 19, LAIR was then 55% completed. The due date is now set for sometime in November of 2011.
As of yet, I have no idea of the square footage. If you notice to the far right, there is a smaller second building also under construction; the Southwestern building, which will house mostly local species. Some highlights exhibited in the larger structure should include Chinese Giant Salamander, Gray's Monitor, and Exuma Island Iguanas, just to name a few. I'd also suggest looking at my thread "Latest Animal Activities" to get some idea of species; Amphibians, Insects and Reptiles under "Arrivals" that also should be housed there. I update it every month as I receive the latest GLAZA members newsletter Zoo Scape.
Mstickmanp and myself will keep everyone updated as we receive any news concerning LAIR.
Although LAIR won't be as impressive and large as MOLA in Fort Worth and others around the country, it will be a great addition to the zoo considering it has not had a reptile house for a couple of years now. Not only will it add new species to the zoo, but it will also make it a lot more easier to manage them in this new facility compared to the old one.
I believe that there will be two outdoor habitats, one will more likely be home to American Alligators, but I'm still unsure about the second one. I also believe that there will be two ponds by the entrance to the main building, which will remain empty in hopes that native herps will use them and even inhabit them. I'm guessing the main building will mainly house the exotic species considering the smaller one will house the natives. I'm glad the zoo will have a great focus on native herp species, something many zoos seem to forget to do when displaying herps.
According to the latest June/July issue of Zoo Scape, this pool or possibly another soon to take shape, is for a future False Gavial outdoor exhibit. Also included for outdoors are several species of reptiles native to the Southwest U.S.
I'm glad to hear that there will be False Gavials at the LA Zoo once again. Now I can't wait for it to be complete!
When I saw the model of the LAIR it showed two small pools by the entrance that will be for wild animals (one of the two shown in the pic above). One of the outdoor habitats will be right next to the middle planter/bridge, and the other main outdoor habitat will in between the two buildings. I saw that model back in 2009 so things could have changed by now.
